Tippett Keeps Grinding For His Panthers Shot

Tippett is taking the long road, and in hockey that usually means earning every scrap of trust the hard way. The Panthers are trying to sort out where he fits, and he is trying to make sure the answer is not buried in the press box or lost in camp chatter. Players like this do not get handed a clean runway; they have to force the coaches to notice. His challenge is simple enough to say and brutal enough to live through, because every shift is another audition.